trait Covariant[+A] trait Contra[-A] { def accept(p: A): Unit } trait Invariant[A] extends Covariant[A] with Contra[A] trait T case class Unravel[A](m: Contra[A], msg: A) extends T object Test extends Covariant[Any] { def g(m: Contra[Any]): Unit = m accept 5 def f(x: T): Unit = x match { case Unravel(m, msg) => g(m) case _ => } def main(args: Array[String]) { f(Unravel[String](new Contra[String] { def accept(x: String) = x.length }, "")) } } // java.lang.ClassCastException: java.lang.Integer cannot be cast to java.lang.String // at Test$$anon$1.accept(a.scala:18) // at Test$.g(a.scala:13) // at Test$.f(a.scala:15) // at Test$.main(a.scala:18) // at Test.main(a.scala)